The woman who recycles everything - even her bin

Chloe Hughes - BBC News, West Midlands and Clare Ashford - BBC Radio Shropshire
·2 min read
Angela Vnoucek
Angela Vnoucek, from Shrewsbury, does not have a general waste bin, and recycles almost everything [BBC]

A woman so keen on recycling that she could have a general waste bin "for a whole year and not put anything in it" has made it her mission to repurpose, recycle or sell virtually all her rubbish.

Angela Vnoucek says the only thing she cannot recycle is cat litter.

Otherwise, she states, everything gets a new lease of life, meaning she now lives without a general bin - repurposing the one she had.

The journey to peak household greenness started when she encountered logistical difficulties putting out bins because she lived on a hill.

She told BBC Radio Shropshire: "I thought 'I do not need this kind of hassle - what if I don't put my bin out; what happens'?

Ms Vnoucek, from Shrewsbury, started attending local conferences on going net-zero, and began researching the circular economy.

"Once you start to do this, you realise that you don't really have a lot to throw out," she explained.

"I was finding that basically I could have a bin for a whole year, and not put anything in it."

used corks
Ms Vnoucek said she sold six bags of used corks at a car boot sale [BBC]

Ms Vnoucek's garage became a waste sorting area.

Soft plastics and cat food pouches are recycled at supermarkets, while plastic toothpicks are taken to a local drop-off point, arranged by a national company called Terracycle.

She also uses a specialist app to recycle toiletries in exchange for shopping vouchers.

Angela Vnoucek with bags of rubbish
Ms Vnoucek sorts all her rubbish in her garage [BBC]

Other items are collected to be sold at car boot sales.

"Last year, I had six bags of corks, and someone bought the lot," she said.

The "best thing" she ever recycled, she said, was the tiny plastic fish used for soy sauce in sushi trays.

"I sold them at a car boot to someone doing an art installation," she said.

bags of recycled waste
Angela Vnoucek says the only thing she cannot recycle is cat litter [BBC]

The way of life has also changed how Ms Vnoucek does shopping.

"When you pick up a product, you think 'how am I going to recycle this'?" she said.

"If we're not going to pick up something because it's not recyclable, that will send a huge message back to the producers.

"However, I think that is now happening anyway - more and more things can be recycled."

As for her old general waste bin, she said, "I actually have all my gardening equipment" in there.

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